TMNT - Rooftops
by RaphaelHamato6325
Summary: The twelve year old turtles really want to go to the surface but obey Sensei when he tells them they can't. We all know Raphael has a really bad temper and doesn't like being told what to do, so what happens when he runs away and meets twelve year old Karai? This story is completely fictional and is based on the 2012 Nickelodeon series. I don't own TMNT(sadly).
1. Chapter 1: Poisoned Mind

There was no escape.

His mind was filled with too many thoughts, too many words, too many emotions. He needed to escape, but there was no way out. The mutant turtle slammed his fist into the wall, earning a fresh wave of blood from his three knuckles. His green eyes smoldered with fury and the bubbling anger writhed in his chest. He needed to get a breath of fresh air, but he was stuck in the sewers with his three idiot brothers and oh-so-wise Sensei. They acted like he was such a baby, dismissing his thoughts and always bossing him around. And he was the second oldest! He was always so mad at them, always trying to press down his rising anger.

He never could.

So he just let his fists do the work and catch his brothers off guard. He hated them, hated the way they treated him, hated his stupid miserable life. He let out a shout and punched the hard rock wall of his bedroom over and over, coaxing more scratches onto his knuckles. The wraps on his fingers were soaked red before he stopped and collapsed on his bed. Why didn't they understand him? He turned his head to his pet turtle, Spike, and stroked his shell. They just didn't get him. That was okay, because he didn't care anymore. Spike crawled onto his shoulder and settled down, his tiny head resting on the mutant turtle's plastron. He glared at the ceiling, wishing that he could be free to do what he wanted. The turtle sat up so suddenly he almost dislodged Spike from his spot on his shoulder. The little turtle sank into his shell and then poked his head back out. The mutant turtle stood up and patted Spike's head before setting him on his pillow. _Be right back, buddy_ , he thought. He wiped his hands off and replaced the wraps on his fingers, hoping that all the cuts had stopped bleeding. He didn't even check before slipping through his door and closing it quietly. His brothers would be sleeping by now. He didn't want to wake them. The turtle quickly pattered to the end of the wide hallway with four bedrooms. He slid the dojo door open and saw his Sensei sitting in a meditation pose. The turtle rolled his eyes. Meditating was a waste of time. The turtle quietly stepped forward, waiting for his Sensei to notice him. When he didn't, the turtle cleared his throat and shifted his weight. His Sensei, Master Splinter, opened one eye slightly and sighed, standing up.

"Raphael, you should be asleep," he said, then paused. "And so should you three." Raphael turned his head, not surprised to see his three brothers step guiltily out from behind the wall. He had seen a flash of his older brother's emerald skin when he had stepped out his door, so they had definitely been spying on him. Anger started to boil in his chest. No, he had to stay calm so he could talk to Splinter. Raph crossed his arms and kicked at the floor.

"Well, Master Splinter, we wanted to know if we could go to the surface," his older brother Leo said. Raph glared at him, wondering how he knew what he was going to say to Splinter. The mutant rat raised an eyebrow.

"No," he said plainly.

"But Sensei-" His youngest brother, Mikey, started before being cut off.

"I said no!" Splinter swept his tail across the floor. "You are not ready!

"Then when will we be ready?" Donnie, his younger gap-toothed brother persisted.

"When I say you are! Now go to sleep!" Splinter turned and walked out of the dojo. Raph glared at his brothers and shoved between Leo and Mikey. Donnie had enough sense to step out of the way and let Raph pass. Anger smoldered in his chest again. They always ruined everything! If they had been sleeping like they were supposed to, maybe he could've convinced Splinter to let them go out! Raph slammed his bedroom door loudly and fell face first on his bed, gathering the blanket in his hands and clenching his fists around it. He screamed into his pillow and threw it at the wall. He hated them! They were just a bunch of jerks who didn't understand him. He needed to get out of this forsaken place, save himself from his stupid brothers.

Then they might appreciate him more.

Raph started to punch the wall again, his cuts reopening. He slammed his fists into the wall again and again, trying to hold back shouts. Red started to bleed into his vision, making everything misty and confusing. He didn't realize his mask had soaked up tears from his eyes and growled, tearing it off. He rubbed his eyes and threw his mask on the floor. He'd just get a new one out of his drawers later. Raph sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. He needed to escape, to leave, to get out. He sighed and lay back on his bed staring at the ceiling. He glanced at the wall and saw blood trickling down the stony surface. Raph closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts. His brothers didn't care! They never did! He needed to find someone who would accept him for who he was. Raph hated how Splinter would talk to him about his temper. Tell him he needed to get it under control. He hated how his brothers always looked down at him, like they were disappointed with what he was. He hated how Leo and Splinter would act like they owned everything. He hated how Donnie acted like he was smarter than everyone. He hated how Mikey would act like nothing in the world mattered, that everything was carefree. He hated himself more than anything for the way his mind worked. How he saw everything's downside. How he couldn't get his temper under control. He hated how his brothers would look at him, like he was a monster that would eat them all if they said the wrong thing. He hated the dark, angry thoughts that threatened and snapped at him. Raph closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. He remembered the day he found Spike. He had been mad at his brothers and had run off into the sewers angrily, splashing through the tunnels and sulking. He had run for an hour or two straight before collapsing and laying on the floor, tracing shapes with his fingers. He had lied there for hours before noticing the soggy newspaper a few feet away from him started to move. He had jumped up and lifted it to find a tiny turtle. _He's so much smaller than me and my brothers,_ He had thought, cradling him in his hands. He had taken the turtle home and named him Spike. Raph's mind started to feel foggy and his eyelids were fluttering. Raph glanced at his bloody hands. _I need to clean them off_ , he thought distantly before slipping into the warm folds of sleep.

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Raph kicked Leo to the floor and was on him instantly, his sai at his throat. Leo glared at Raph and shoved him off, sitting up and clutching his arm where Raph had kicked him. Raph smirked at Leo and crossed his arms, glaring at him. Leo stood up and shoved Raph to the ground. Anger sparked in Raph's chest and he let out a shout as he jumped at his brother. Leo met him with a punch, which Raph dodged, and let out an _oof_ when Raph tackled him to the ground. Raph held him down and delivered a flurry of blows to Leo's face, the knot of anger in his chest writhing. Leo pushed Raph off and wiped a line of blood trailing from his mouth.

"You're a hotheaded shellbrained idiot, Raphael!" Leo yelled. Raph clenched his hands into fists and waited for Leo to charge him. "You always ruin everything with your stupid temper! Heck, if you were more like Mikey it would be an _improvement_!" Raph screamed in anger and tackled Leo again. His blue banded brother shoved him off and kicked Raph square in the chest. Pain flared in Raph's chest, but the anger deepened, the knot growing larger in every passing second. The anger was like fire in his veins, burning throughout his body. Raph stumbled backwards and regained his footing, grabbing Leo's arm as he punched at him. Raph threw Leo over his head and slammed him in the ground. He was on him in an instant, planting his foot on Leo's chest and kicking his side with his other foot. Leo threw Raph's foot off and leaped to his feet, his dark blue eyes blazing with anger. Raph shouted and leaped at him, but Leo caught him and threw him on the ground.

"We don't need you!" he snapped. "You just weigh us down!" Raph felt something snap inside of him kicked him into the air. Raph shouted again and slammed both of his fists into Leo, making his brother fly across the room and hit the wall. A sickening crack exploded and Leo cried out. Raph blinked the haze of anger away from his eyes and horror built inside of him steadily. What did he just do? He rushed to Leo's side and shook his shoulders, terror spilling into him.

"Leo? Leo!" Raph slapped his face and Leo's eyes fluttered open. His hand rushed to his right arm, which was twisted unnaturally. Leo yelled in pain and kicked Raph away. Anger and hurt flared in Leo's eyes and Raph staggered to his feet. Leo scrambled to his feet and ran out of the dojo, clutching at his broken arm. A sick feeling was worming its way into Raph. He just broke his brother's arm! He raced out of the dojo and ignored the questioning look from Mikey, who had been reading a comic book on the couch. Raph ran into his room and slammed the door, sinking to the floor. He wrapped his arms around himself and buried his face in his knees. How could he do that? Raph felt sick as hot tears soaked his red mask and escaped down his cheeks. He tried to hold back a sob, his stomach twisting. He failed and shook as sobs racked his body. Why was he such a monster? He sobbed violently, his whole body trembling. He hated himself so much. He needed to get out of this place, needed to save his brothers from himself. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting and crying when he finally swallowed back the tears and stood up. Raph wiped the tear tracks off his face and wrung out his mask until it was dry. He tied it back behind his head and slipped out of his bedroom silently, shutting the door softly. Raph snuck behind the couch, oblivious to Mikey, who was absorbed in his comics.

Raph could hear shouts from Leo and guessed Donnie was trying to fix his arm. He tried to banish the memory of the bone breaking from his mind, jumping silently over the four turnstiles that lined the entrance to the lair. As soon as Raph couldn't see the light pooling into the sewer tunnel from the lair, he burst into a run and sprinted into the maze of tunnels. He ran for an hour or two until he was hopelessly lost in the sewers and fell to the ground. He sat up and caught his breath, his legs and lungs burning. Raph glanced at the two ends of the sewer tunnel when his gaze caught a ladder that was built into the wall. _The surface._ Raph stood on his shaky legs and walked to where the ladder started. He wondered what was up there, in the strange world. He knew that humans lived there from the stories Splinter had told him and from the TV shows that would sometimes play. Raph placed his hands on a rung and pulled himself up, rung by rung. The metal bars were cold against his skin as he climbed. When he reached the top, uncertainty swam through him. Should he go up there? What if something happened while he was gone? What if the human creatures saw him? Raph shook his head to clear his thoughts and steeled his mind. He _was_ going up there. He glanced at the sewers one last times and turned back to the ladder.

With a deep breath, he pushed open the manhole cover and climbed out.

 **HA!**

 **I FIXED IT!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Ka-Who?

Raph gaped in awe at the world that surrounded him. The sky was a dark, inky black studded with faint points of light. Buildings surrounded him on each side, and he was standing in an alley across the street from something called a casino. Raph's green eyes were glued to the bright lights that shone from the casino's signs. How could these humans take light and nail it to a sign? Raph was about to exit the alley when a car raced past and he reeled backwards. _Oh, right,_ he thought. _Can't let anyone see me._ He examined the alley and climbed on top of a dumpster. Another ladder that lead to stairs rested just above Raph's reach. He growled and jumped, grabbing the rusty, black rung with both hands and pulling himself up. _Thank you, years of pull-ups._ Raph silently thanked Splinter for making him do hours of pull-ups and ran up the stairs. He stumbled onto a flat surface and looked around. He was on top of one of the buildings that bordered the alley, and a radiator and triangular prism of glass was all that inhabited the roof. Raph felt excitement begin to sizzle inside of him and he jumped from his roof to a different one. He laughed as he landed and rolled in one smooth movement, betting ten bucks Leo couldn't do that even if his life depended on it. Raph raced upon the roof and flipped onto another roof, landing on his hands and springing off, twisting in the air. This is what Splinter was hiding from them! The fun of performing flips and spins while leaping from roof to roof! That stupid, _stupid_ rat!

Raph grinned broadly as he back flipped midair and landed on his feet, quickly launching off the roof and landing on the edge of another on his hands. Raph stood on his hands for a couple moments, surveying the city upside down. Raph sprang onto his feet and scrambled onto a water tower silently. He crouched on top of it, his eyes scanning for any of his brothers following him. Nothing but the faint whoosh of the wind, honking of car horns, talk from the pedestrians and the coo of pigeons drifted on the breeze. Raph smirked and flew off the water tower, landing softly on a different roof and resuming his running and jumping, flipping and twisting. Raph stopped after a while of this, panting heavily and grinning. If this was all the world had to offer him, the world was pretty awesome. Raph sat back on his heels and lifted his head to the sky, breathing in the crisp, fresh air. The air was nothing like this in the sewers. Raph would make sure his brothers knew how awesome it was up here when he got back. Wait . . . How was he going to get back? He had no idea where the nearest manhole cover was or where in the sewers he would enter. Did he even have to go back? No, he didn't. His family never appreciated him. Why should he go back. Raph stood up suddenly, the smile banished from his lips. They never made him as happy as he was just now. He would stay up here and live apart from his jerk family. Raph smirked and started to leap again.

As he jumped he thought about how much Mikey would love this and couldn't stop the pang of regret and sorrow from stabbing through him. Raph glanced at the unnatural lights again and thought about how Mikey would love _them_. Yeah, Mikey would probably love everything up here. Raph sighed and stopped jumping long enough to see Mikey's frantic face when Raph wasn't back before sunlight streamed through the grate in the dojo. Raph growled as he remembered Leo's smug face when he had thrown his insults at Raph. _Yeah, well see if you can be smug about_ this, _Leo!_ Raph thought, doing an impressive back flip, midair cartwheel and twist as he leaped. Raph wished Mikey was up here but quickly dismissed the thought. Mikey would just annoy him to no ends. Still, Raph felt like he could've at least said goodbye. Raph didn't notice he jumped where there wasn't a roof to land on until it was too late and held back a scream as he fell, spinning through the air. He retreated into his shell and braced himself, hoping he landed quietly. Lucky for him, he did. The only sound he made was a _thwack_ as his plastron hit the pavement. Raph leaped to his feet and glanced around to see if anyone saw him. A lady driving by in a van had heard him fall and was staring at him in shock. Raph shrank back and pressed his shell against the brick wall. She stepped out of her van and gazed at Raph in fascination. She approached Raph slowly as if he would attack her. Heck, he might. Raph's eyes darted around the alley, looking for a way out. The woman held out her hand and cooed softly. Raph raised an eye ridge and gripped the wall behind him. He needed to make a quick exit. He growled, trying to scare her, but the woman only approached closer. Raph's heart quickened its pace as the woman attempted to calm him down.

"Shhh, it's okay. Can you come with me? I'll take you somewhere nice and warm. And you can sleep there too. Just come with me and you'll be safe." Raph almost groaned. This woman obviously didn't care about him being safe. The steely glint her eyes and the way her expression was one of awe gave away she was trying to kidnap him. He snorted and loved the way her face changed to shock.

"Yeah, nice try lady," he growled, then leaped over her and landed on a dumpster. Raph jumped and landed on the wall, but before he could fall he sprung off of it and landed on the opposite wall in the alley. The woman watched with amazement and anger and he vanished from the alley. He raced over the rooftops and leaped from one to one, his anger steadily rising again. Why would that woman even want to kidnap him? He didn't understand it but had heard Splinter tell a story that when he was a child he was almost kidnapped himself and barely escaped. He had taught his sons how to tell when someone was trying to help or hurt. And that woman was trying to hurt. Raph growled and punched a door that stood on the roof. His fist made a dent in the metal and Raph smirked. _Take_ that, _you stupid door_ , he thought, sitting on the side of the roof and letting his legs dangle over. Raph closed his eyes and let the breeze wash over him, cooling his sweating skin. Raph laid on his back, staring up at the dark sky. The peacefulness of the night was interrupted by a shout and the sound of a punch. Raph sat up rigidly as he was reminded of Leo's arm snapping. He looked over the edge of the roof and saw a girl with blonde hair being attacked by three men with purple dragon tattoos and black clothing. Anger filled him. They were attacking the girl for no reason! He jumped down at them and kicked one into the wall. _Hard_. The other two blinked at him and laughed.

"What is it, dress up time?" One mocked Raph. The girl stared at him in fear and shrank away. Raph clenched his hands into fists and punched the one who mocked him in gut, throwing him over his shoulder. A loud thud sounded and Raph advanced on the third man, who backed away and retreated out of the alley. Raph glanced at the girl and leaped out of the alley, hoping she wasn't too scared. He disappeared and started leaping again. It felt good to help someone so defenseless as the girl he just saved from those thugs. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be bothered by them anytime soon. Raph smirked and leaned against a billboard labeled _Stockman Industries_. He punched a hole through the wood and shook his hand out, grinning.

"Impressive," a voice echoed around Raph, who jumped and took up a fight stance. "How long have you been training? Ten years?" Raph glanced around, trying to pinpoint the speaker. He narrowed his green eyes and found the faint glimmer of amber eyes in the shadow of another building. Raph leaped at the person's faint outline, tackling the speaker to the ground. The person tried to push him off but failed, and he locked the person's arms behind their back.

"Who are you?" Raph growled in the speaker's ear.

The person struggled against his grip and kicked him in the stomach. Raph released the person and caught his breath, then whirled around, sensing a foot rushing straight to his head. He grabbed the person's foot and swung them over his head, slamming them into the ground and the light. The person was a girl who looked about Raph's age with black hair on top of her head that transitioned to blonde behind her ears. Two strands of black hair lay in front of her ears and framed her face, which was narrow. She had amber eyes and was wearing a black shirt and skin tight pants. Metal plates were on her shoulders, sides of her arms, chest and the sides of her legs. A belt was wound around her waist and bore some kind of symbol Raph didn't recognize. She unsheathed a katana from its horizontal sheath across the back of her waist and dove at Raph. Raph snarled and rolled to the side, planting a kick on her back. The girl cried out and whirled around. Anger burned in her amber eyes, and Raph assumed his green ones were ablaze with the same malice. She let out a shout and charged him again before leaping and stabbing down at him. Raph dodged her blade easily and punched her in the side, throwing her against the billboard. She leaned against the wood for a moment, catching her breath, and then glared at Raph poisonously. Her leg was stiff as she stepped away from the wood and Raph felt satisfaction well up inside of him. The girl was suddenly a blur of silver and black as she slammed into Raph. His head hit something hard and his vision faded on and off.

Spots danced in Raph's eyes and he felt a foot on his chest. He faintly saw the girl smirk and press her katana against his throat. Raph felt his skin break and warm, thick blood trickled down his neck. The girl pulled her katana away and rammed her fist into the side of Raph's head.

"I'd be talking if I were you, creature." the girl dug her katana into his neck again, causing more blood to flow down the sides of his neck. "Or you'll be saying goodbye to your pretty little head for good this time."

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"Master Splinter!" Leo yelled. He'd looked everywhere for Raph after Donnie had set his arm and hung it in a cast, and his red banded terrapin brother wasn't anywhere. He felt awful that he'd said those things to his brother. He hadn't meant them and had wanted to apologize to Raph. Leo looked in his room first, but Raph wasn't there. Leo had then looked in the dojo, the kitchen and the main room. Raph wasn't anywhere.

"Master Splinter!" Leo shouted again. Splinter appeared in the doorway of the dojo and looked questioningly at Leo, who ran at him and ignored the shocked look his father gave him when he saw the cast holding Leo's arm across his chest. "Sensei, I think Raph ran away!" Splinter raised an eyebrow at this but turned his attention to his son's arm.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked calmly. Leo furrowed his eye ridges and tugged at Splinter's arm.

"It doesn't matter!" he cried. "Raph's gone!"

"Why would Raphael leave?" Splinter followed Leo and raised his nose to the air. The scent was faint, but it was sure and it was leading out of the lair and over the turnstiles. Leo looked up at Splinter and his father read the worry showing clearly in his blue eyes. The commotion had drawn Donnie and Mikey over from where they had been arguing about luck. Mikey had been insisting it existed, but Donnie had said that there was no such thing as luck, just what you did and how you did it. Now the two were standing behind Leo and looking confused. Splinter sighed. He lead his sons to the turnstiles and sniffed the air again to make sure he had been right. He had. His second oldest was out there somewhere, probably lost.

"Leonardo, go with Donatello and only stay where you know where you are. If you don't find Raphael, come back here and wait for your brother and I to return. Do not go where you will get lost! I do not need three lost sons!" Splinter turned to Mikey as Leo and Donnie raced down the tunnel, both shouting Raphael's name. "Come, my son. We will find Raphael." Mikey blinked, confused, but followed Splinter into the sewers. What had happened to Raph?

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Raph tried to push the blade away from his throat and sit up, but another fist rained down onto his head again. Raph was pretty sure the girl who had attacked him was a kunoichi, but Splinter had said that there weren't very many ninjas and kunoichis left, and they mostly lived in Japan. Raph suppressed a groan and opened his eyes.

"What are you?" the girl's voice demanded. Raph growled and shoved the katana away from his neck, trying to stand. He stumbled and fell to his knees, his head spinning. His neck burned where the girl had cut it and he glared at her. Raph ignored her question and rubbed his head, trying to find balance once more.

"I said what are you?" the girl kicked him to the ground and Raph groaned again.

"Can't you tell?" he snapped. "Did you even see the shell?" the girl kicked him again.

"I ask the questions here," she snarled. Raph shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to get them to focus. "And I want to know where you came from."

"I can't tell you." Raph hated how this girl acted like she could overpower him. It had been a lucky shot when she tackled him to the ground and slammed his head into the roof. "It's a secret." He sat back on his heels and looked her in the eye. "And even if it wasn't, of all people, I wouldn't tell _you_." This earned him another kick in the side.

"What's your name, monster?" The girl crouched down.

"Are you done kicking me?" Raph asked. The girl nodded.

"Raph," he said.

"Raph?" The girl snorted. "Is that short for something or what?"

"It's short for Raphael!" Raph snapped. "Have anymore annoying questions?"

"Just one." The girl stood up. "Are there more of you?"

"Well, there's only one _me_ , so no." Raph pulled himself to his feet and grabbed his head as a sharp pain seared through it. The girl had her katana out in an instant and pressed it against his throat again.

"I asked you a question," she said, her voice low. Raph growled.

"I have three brothers. That's it." She drew her katana away and stepped back, vanishing into the shadows again.

"What's _your_ name?" Raph called.

Silence hung in the air before the girl's voice sounded from the next roof. "Karai."

"Ka-who?"

Mikey trailed behind Master Splinter and glanced around the sewer tunnels. He'd never been this far from the lair, and quite frankly, he didn't like it. It seemed like the further he got from home the sewers seemed darker and more frightening. He wanted Raph to come home. Well, he still didn't know what had happened. Why did Raph run away? He wished he was back at the lair reading one of his comics. Suddenly Master Splinter halted and lifted his nose in the air. Mikey stopped too and glanced behind him. He felt like he was being followed, but every time he turned around all that was there were the shadows of the tunnels. Mikey turned back to Master Splinter and saw the look of worry and shock take over his features. His father turned to Mikey and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Raphael has gone to the surface. I need you to go home and wait for your brothers to arrive. I will be home as soon as I can with your brother. Can you remember your way back?" Mikey nodded uneasily and watched as Master Splinter climbed up a ladder on the wall.

"Master Splinter?" Mikey's baby blue eyes were wide. "Why did Raph go up there?"

Master Splinter sighed. "I do not know, my son. Now go home."

Mikey turned and ran back the way they had come.

 **Whew, so glad I'm done with this chapter.**

 **I've literally been using every ounce of my creativity to write this.**

 **Hope you like it!**


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